UNCHAINED

A hoarse, deep and trembling voice echoed out into the deep night. A creature as tall as a mountain, embroiled in blood from bottom to top hunched over as its eyes glanced at a giant sword stuck in its heart. Before it floated a handsome-looking youth, his expression arrogant, with nearly a hundred thousand more standing right behind him.

The sky rained, causing stench of rotting blood to slowly fade, as did the gigantic creature. Bit by bit, its crimson hue dimmed, turning charred black, as its eyes focused back onto the youth and those behind him. As if entranced in sorrow, those eyes caused many to waver and look away, afraid of the guilt it may entail.

The giant creature didn’t speak, or even resist the slow decay, as more and more pieces of it were sucked away by the Laws themselves. It was returning to the Origin, the Source of all things – alive and dead. Primordial God of Blood was slowly vanishing… after eons and eons of time, it had met its end. In form shapeless, it merely represented understanding of Blood itself, yet now it bled nonetheless on its own. The knowledge given to him was being taken away, bit by bit, until all its memories slowly began fading. The day it was born… the day it learned of itself… the day it gave mankind the knowledge of Origin Law of Blood… and all the regrets which followed afterwards.

“Why do you hunt us, children?” the creature asked at last, as it was slowly nearing its death.

“We’re not your children,” the handsome youth upfront replied, smirking lightly. “We are merely your disciples, taking on the mantle of the Master righteously. Humans don’t need to beg Gods to grant them strength; we’ll become strength ourselves.”

“… the World is a constant, child,” the creature spoke, its voice filled with deep-seeded sorrow. “From one cycle onto another, it passes on its own. I – and my brethren – have given you Laws to experience the magnificence of the World before it vanishes… not to try and conquer it. Alas, it is Our regret. Good luck, children. May your knowledge one day surpasses ours, and you truly do understand the World fully.”

In the fading darkness of the night, the last sheen of crimson vanished, and the God of Blood was no more. It faded into emptiness of the void, and its scattered bits of knowledge flew invisibly through the spectrum of reality, slowly returning to the Origin. The handsome youth and others paid a last glance at the creature that once inspired fear which ran as deep as their marrows, and vanished from the sight.

The bits of knowledge – seemingly tiny, invisible droplets – slowly lingering through the dimension, flew like river. They moved onward, in a constant, uninterrupted flow. In went on for years… decades… and centuries. The realms flourished and fell, but the knowledge had yet to return to its Origin.

Then, in the midst of the maelstrom dousing ocean beneath awake, a small spark ignited. A droplet broke off from the flow and divined itself alive, breaking the dimension itself as it appeared above the ocean. At first, it was a small, crimson drop, not larger than a nail, but then it grew.

Like a fire in the midst of forest, it spread, until its sentience awoke, and its reality was laid before it. Small bits and pieces of memories returned, as did the dying moment of the one who came before it; yet, this small spark was no God of Blood. Akin to a child, it felt love and veneration to the one before it, yet felt no anger or resentment towards the people.

As the small droplet grew to the size of a boulder, a brilliant flash of light blinded the sky as a figure descended from above and appeared before it. It was a handsome youth, the one from its memories, donning a brilliant, snow-white armor, and a beautiful, curved silver sword. His expression was of indifference as he stared at the creature before it, as if it didn’t matter at all.

“I knew you would refuse to die,” the youth spoke in a mocking tone. “Stubborn old fool.”

“I—I am not him!” the creature replied, its voice low, as if that of a child. “I-I don’t desire to combat you! I only wish to live! Please, let me leave! I won’t bother you or your kin, ever!”

“Ha ha,” the youth laughed as if he had just heard the most ludicrous thing ever. “You truly are despicable. What, did you think that we’d have forgotten you after a millennia? That we’d simply stop paying attention to you? No, we simply sat and waited. We knew you’d try to escape your fate sooner or later. And, at last, that day has come.”

“I am not him, I swear!” the creature cried. “I just want to live! Please!”

“To end you now would unfortunately shake the nature’s balance,” the youth spoke as is free hand moved in strange ways, forming some incantation. “So, I’ll let you live. I’ll let you live for as long as you want.” the youth smirked as he pointed his hand at the creature. “Enjoy your life, stubborn fool… Eternal Chains!”

Space was tore apart as rattling chains broke through, clanking in harmony, as they slowly began wrapping around the creature. Hissing sounds echoed into the night as the creature screamed in agony, suffering a pain it never knew was real. The chains dragged it down and further down, pulling it apart and together over and over again, until it found itself in a land of darkness. All it knew of were the chains coiled around its body, and pain it’d suffer any time it tried to move.

“I’m not him…” a century passed.

“I promise, I’m not him…” a millennia passed.

“I’m not him! Please, let me go! Let me go!” ten thousand years passed.

“… please… I beg you. I am not him…” a hundred thousand years passed.

“Won’t anyone listen?! Please, I am not him! I don’t want to fight! Please, listen to me!” half a million years have passed.

“I am not him! I never was him! I am me! Listen to me already!!” a million years have passed.

“I am not him, goddammit!!! Are you all idiots?!! I don’t want to fight you! I just want to live freely!! Please, release me!!” five million years have passed.

“I AM NOT HIM!!! YOU HEAR ME?!! I AM NOT HIM!!! RELEASE ME, NOW!!!!” ten million years have passed.

**

A dull, bellowing roar broke out from beneath the world, shaking it down to its very core. Nearby mountains toppled over as the earth broke apart, miles long cracks appearing atop the surface, beneath them endless crevices running through earth. All the corpses suddenly exploded, their blood raining upwards into the air, forming a gigantic sphere of blood in the sky.

The sphere pulsated, as if alive, as it gathered in a huge mass just a few miles away from where Lynne was at. Soon, it was large enough to cover the entire Rolyhard Kingdom in eternal darkness. Then, as if summoned by a slumbering voice in the deeps, it fell from the sky and flew into the earth, causing earthquakes to speed up and escalate.

The city walls would have long since crumbled if Parsia wasn’t reinforcing them every second. Even Thalia and the woman she was fighting halted as they watched the spectacle, both with very different expressions.

All people, young and old alike, focused onto the fading sphere of blood, hearts singing a foreboding tune. Of all the living standing opposite of it, only Lynne was calm. The nine scythes still rotated around him, counter-clockwise, as he waited patiently.

Bit by bit, the sphere disappeared and the quaking stopped, and the world had seemingly become peaceful and steady again. The dull roar vanished, and strange silence covered every fabric of existence for a brief moment of complete tranquility. Just then, from within the depths of the abyss, a much clearer roar resounded, as a geyser of crimson erupted from within the earth into the sky and began forming into a figure.

It was a strange beast, spanning nearly half a mile across and nearly five in height. It had gigantic claws for arms, and its torso directly turned into three tails at the end. Its head was triangular, maws agape as blood dripped down, shape resembling that of a Dragon’s head. It had six horns in total growing out from its head, and its eyes were completely black, as if dimensions in and of themselves, sucking all living into them.

It was both a beautiful and a terrifying sight, inspiring both awe and dread in all the onlookers. Lynne gazed calmly at the creature before him, large enough to simply drown the world in its own mass. He wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t shaking in terror at the thought that he just might die within minutes. He braved the storm gently, ignoring the alarms ringing inside his mind.

Armies of Zen all knelt down immediately, including the High Lord, and bowed before the gigantic creature. The only one remaining in the sky was Lynne, who defiantly stared at the creature which stared back at him. Moments passed, and the eerie silence returned. Yet, the very next moment, all battles resumed, as if the creature wasn’t even there.

“Fen’er,” Lynne called out mentally. “Come here and entertain your dad for a while. I’ve got a date I just can’t miss.”

“I’m already here.” Fen’er said calmly as she joined him in the sky; however, her gaze wasn’t focused on the creature of blood, but rather her father on the ground, whose eyes found her. “Good luck Lynne.” she said gently as she began descending.

“Aye,” Lynne nodded. “You too.”

He then began floating forward, directly towards the gigantic creature, seemingly immune to the feeling of fear. The scythes around him rotated, and his blood churned inwardly as if boiled, yet he ignored it all.

“When they said False God,” Lynne spoke as he stopped a few hundred meters away from the creature. “I must admit, I expected someone much more… unique than you.”

“Why do all humans believe they can belittle the Gods?” the creature asked in a frosty tone. “And live to tell the tale?”

“Well, I imagine it’s because we managed to put you away into prison for so long you’d have lost your mind, and that you would have stayed there unless, that’s right, humans freed you. I think you should be more appreciative of us.” Lynne said, smiling. “Besides, I’m not belittling you. I’m belittling your kind, is all. But, don’t get pantsy about it; I belittle pretty much everyone and everything I meet, so you can say I’m simply treating you as I treat everyone else.”

“My kind…” the creature muttered, leaning forward slightly until its face was just a few meters away from Lynne’s. “Only ever wished freedom. A chance to experience the World before it falls. Yet, your kind kills us, imprisons us, and hunts us like we’re savage beasts. Do you know that the only reason your kind as come as far as it did was because Gods pitied you enough to grant you the knowledge of Laws? Without us, you’d be no different than ordinary mortals!”

“Yeah, probably,” Lynne said, rising his shoulders slightly. “But, you were dumb enough to believe people. Hell, I’m people and I’d trust a snake about to bite my crotch off than other people. Besides, I don’t care much for the past or the future. I live in today, and today you and your zealots have appeared here to kill us. In the end, we’re all just assholes, seeking ways to live better lives. I want a harem of mature, beautiful ladies with bosoms to rejuvenate my soul, and rivers of gold and wine; you want freedom, and whatever else. We just fight for what we want. So, let’s fight.”

“… you cannot win, human,” the creature spoke as it withdrew its head back. “Empyrean Scything was never meant for your kind to learn. It was meant for Gods to slay other Gods. In the hands of a human, it’s merely a technique to awe the blind. And I’ll show you why.”

“Whatever shuts you the hell up.”

A hole in space tore open behind Lynne as he immediately walked into it, reappearing a mile away. Gigantic axe-shaped bulge of blood swept past where he stood and crashed into the earth beneath, blowing everything in vicinity to smithereens.

“Hai, too slow, too slow,” Lynne mocked as he swallowed some blood back down his throat. “Looks like you’ve grown quite rusty over the years. Heh, you could say... it’s bloody embarrassing. Ha ha, still got it!” No, no you fucking don’t! Everyone collectively thought.

“…”

“…”

It was at that point that the False God of Blood had learned why its ancestors in the past took pity on the humans… just before it bellowed into the sky and swung its massive tails at Lynne, shooting out dart-sized bloody droplets at the latter, aiming directly at his heart.